by Mrs. Clark

The Young People’s Department has a Color Nook which can be borrowed by an adult with a picture ID usually a driver’s license is used. The procedure is similar to signing your children up to use the computers in our department. You would sign your first and last name on the clipboard with the white paper. In place of a computer workstation number you would simply write Nook. Then you need to get the attention of a staff member and we will be glad to let you use the Nook in the department for a maximum of one hour. The Nook is already preloaded with various titles of both adult and children’s books. Currently there are about twenty titles on our Nook. As time goes on the library will continue to add additional titles. There are also puzzles preloaded for your enjoyment. We realize you cannot read an adult novel is this amount of time. It does give you a chance to look at the Nook on your own or to share the experience it with your child. Maybe an e-reader is something you have thought about purchasing and want to find out for yourself if you would enjoy this method of delivery.

When you are finished return the Nook to the staff member at the Checkout Desk and we will return your ID to you.

by Alicia

It is never too early to start introducing books to your child. Sharing books with your infant or toddler not only develops their language and literacy skills, but it is a great way to spend time together. There are many different ways an adult can share books with a young child. Here are some excellent tips on how to share books with an infant or toddler from Zero to Three.

by Mrs. Clark

How many times as parents are we distracted while sharing time with our children? I had a chance recently to take time to let my younger daughter make banana bread. I discovered what a luxury it is to have time to let her do the retrieving and measuring of ingredients. Learning cooking skills is important for any child and I realize it is something I have done enough.

Too often we adults complain about how wired our children are, but maybe we too need to unplug and engage one on one with our family members. I am grateful to the obstetrics nurse who told me to look at and engage with my newborn when feeding her. What a joy it was to get to know her while looking into her eyes. Maybe it’s time to remember the nurse’s instructions again.

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Most of the games I played as a kid are gone now. "Someone" lost the pieces. I won’t mention any names. There was one game that my Mom "lost" because my little sister and I fought every time we played it…and it we played it a lot! No doubt she saved our lives and kept one of us from being put in jail for murder. I can’t remember the name of the game, but each player used a small plastic racket to hit a plastic knob on the end of a long arm that pivoted from its middle so that when you whacked as hard as you could it began to spin. Each player then tried to stop the knob using a lever with holes in it before the other person caught it.

I fondly remember Operation, Mousetrap, Dynamite Shack, Aggravation, Parcheesi, Headache, Sorry, Battleship, Carom, Checkers, Chinese checkers (with glass marbles), Masterpiece, Clue, Rack-o and myriads of dice and card games. These games have caused laughter to the point of tears and strengthened old bonds and built new ones. Since the loss of a most beloved Mother and wonderful Aunt this past year, we now play games in their honor and spend time reminiscing about how Aunt Elaine and Mom were the Queens of Farkle…the Oklahoma version, please.

For more ideas, visit Family Education.

by Barbara

To the parents with children who have a new "I really want to do this" each year, don’t be too quick to dismiss them. I remember a time when my son came to me when he was in the fifth grade, saying that he really wanted to play the violin, and I was sure that it would be just like when he played baseball and then basketball, which were short lived passions. My thought was "this too shall pass," but, after years of listening to him practice and attending many performances, he is now in college majoring in music, playing the violin and performing in different orchestras. So encourage those little wants and watch to see where they will end. It may take a few starts and stops before they find one and stay with it.

by Margaret

It’s the end of the day, you’re ready to sit down and relax and your child says, "I need a book for Reading Counts." Are you confused about lexiles, Reading Counts and quizzes? Chances are, you are not alone.

School libraries may shelve their books according to lexile levels, but we don’t. We have way too many books! So where do you start to find the book your child needs? Scholastic Reading Counts is a source our staff uses to help find books that your child needs, and you can use it too! It’s a tool to help you come armed with specific titles that fit your child’s lexile and that also have the quizzes your child needs to take from school. From the home page, click on "Browse Book Expert Online". Fill in the information you know and search. Once you find titles, you can then access our catalog from home to see if we actually have the book you are looking for. That’s a big time saver for you! However, our staff understands the urgency (and sometimes frustration) of finding a book for your child at the last minute and we are glad to help in any way we can.

by Laraine

How many times have you seen a movie and found out later it was based on a book? How many times have you read a book and wished they would make a movie out of it? Here is a short list of movies based on books for children and young adults coming to a screen near you in 2011, 2012 or 2013. (Some of these are target dates and not definite yet.)

• Nov 2011 — Hugo — based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
  • When twelve-year-old Hugo, an orphan living and repairing clocks within the walls of a Paris train station in 1931, meets a mysterious toy seller and his goddaughter, his undercover life and his biggest secret are jeopardized.
• Dec 2011 — War Horse — by Michael Morpugo
  • World War I has started and the military needs horses to move equipment, charge the enemy, and carry wounded soldiers off the battlefield. Joey, a farm horse is sold to the Army. Joey misses the farmer's son, Albert, and spends the war years wondering if the war will ever end and if he will ever see Albert again.
• March 2012 — The Lorax — by Dr. Seuss
  • When the Truffula trees are all chopped down, a once–beautiful forest suddenly becomes a smog covered dump.
• March 2012 — Hunger Games — by Suzanne Collins
  • In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen–year–old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.
• April 2012 — Dorothy of Oz — by Robert Baum
  • Kansas has been devastated by tornadoes. Returning home to find the farm in ruins, young Dorothy is transported back to Oz, and embarks on a quest to save her old friends the Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man.
• Nov 2012 — Breaking Dawn: Part 2 — by Stephenie Meyer
  • In the fourth and final book in the #1 bestselling teen vampire Twilight Saga, when eighteen–year–old Bella joins the dark but seductive world of the immortals by marrying Edward the vampire, her connection to the powerful werewolf Jacob remains unsevered.
• Dec 2012 — Adventures of TinTin: The Secret of the Unicorn — based on the graphic novels by Herge
  • Tintin is a young Belgian reporter who becomes involved in dangerous cases in which he takes heroic action to save the day. Snowy, a white fox terrier, is Tintin's four-legged companion. The bond between Snowy and Tintin is very deep as they have saved each other from perilous situations.
• Dec 2012 — The Hobbit — by J.R.R. Tolkien (companion to The Lord of the Rings trilogy)
  • Bilbo Baggins, a respectable, well-to-do hobbit, lives comfortably in his hobbit–hole until the day the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to take part in an adventure from which he may never return.
• 2012 — Beautiful Creatures — by Kami Garcia
  • In a small South Carolina town, where it seems little has changed since the Civil War, sixteen–year–old Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection and whose family hides a dark secret that may be revealed on her sixteenth birthday.
• 2012 — The Alchemyst — based on the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott
  • While working summer jobs in San Francisco, fifteen–year–old twins, Sophie and Josh, suddenly find themselves caught up in the deadly, centuries–old struggle between rival alchemists, Nicholas Flamel and John Dee, over the possession of an ancient and powerful book holding the secret formulas for alchemy and everlasting life.
• 2012 — Magyk — based on the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage
  • After learning that she is the Princess, Jenna is whisked from her home and carried toward safety by the Extraordinary Wizard, her supposed father and brother, and a young guard known only as Boy 412, while pursued by agents of those who killed her mother ten years earlier.
• Suddenly able to see demons and the Shadowhunters who are dedicated to returning them to their own dimension, fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is drawn into this bizarre world when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a monster.
• 2012/13 — 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea — by Jules Verne
• In the mid-nineteenth century, a French professor and his two companions, trapped aboard a fantastic submarine as prisoners of the deranged Captain Nemo, come face to face with exotic ocean creatures and strange sights hidden from the world above.
• 2013 — Oz: The Great and Powerful — prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
• Oz: The Great and Powerful imagines the origins of the Wizard of Oz. When Oscar Diggs, a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot — fame and fortune are his for the taking. Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity — and even a bit of wizardry — Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.
• 2013 — Seventh Son — based on the Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney
• Young Tom, the seventh son of a seventh son, starts work as an apprentice for the village spook, whose job is to protect ordinary folk from " ghouls, boggarts, and all manner of wicked beasties.&qout;
• 2013 — Wrinkle in Time — based on Time Quintet series by Madeline L’Engle
• Thirteen-year-old Meg Murry, her little brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin are guided by unearthly strangers as they go on a journey through space and time to search for Meg's and Charles' scientist father who disappeared while experimenting with a new form of space travel.

by Miss Holly

Parenting is a tough job, no matter how old your children may be. You want to protect your children, while giving them the tools they need in order to become successful adults. Common Sense Media strives to make that task a little easier.

Common Sense Media is "dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology". They do this by offering non-biased evaluations of movies, games, apps, websites, television shows, books and music. A target age range is suggested for each item reviewed, giving parents an initial guideline that can assist them in making choices consistent with their family values.

Common Sense Media reviews can be found on their website, on their Facebook and Twitter pages, and as an app for iPhone.